Sterile Processing

The human microbiome, a diverse collection of microorganisms living inside us and on our skin, has attracted considerable attention for its role in a broad range of human health issues. Now, researchers are discovering that the built environment also has a microbiome, which includes a community of potentially-pathogenic bacteria living inside water supply pipes.

At the two hospitals where I work, the sterile processing departments (SPDs) are located in the basement and near the morgue. To think that people are literally dying to be closer to the SPD is a unique feature that not just any hospital department can claim!

Q: Are we allowed to use latex gloves in the decontamination area?  Is there any documentation in AAMI or OSHA that dictates the use of latex gloves in the decontamination area? Secondly, are we allowed to wear gloves in the sterile prep area while putting together trays?A:  According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administrations’ Blood Borne Pathogen Ruling (2001), “Personal protective equipment (i) Provision. When there is occupational exposure, the employer shall provide, at no cost to the employee, appropriate personal protective equipment such as, but not limited to, gloves, gowns, laboratory coats, face shields or masks and eye protection, and mouthpieces, resuscitation bags, pocket masks, or other ventilation devices. Personal protective equipment will be considered “appropriate” only if it does not permit blood or other potentially infectious materials to pass through or reach the employee’s work clothes, street clothes, undergarments, skin, eyes, mouth, or other mucous membranes under normal conditions of use and for the duration of time that the protective equipment will be used. Accessibility. The employer shall ensure that appropriate personal protective equipment in the appropriate sizes is readily accessible at the work site or is issued to employees. Hypoallergenic gloves, glove liners, powderless gloves, or other similar alternatives shall be readily accessible to those employees who are allergic to the gloves normally provided.”

Biofilms, or colonies of bacteria growing on surfaces and medical devices, can inflict intractable or recurring disease. During colonization, biofilms develop characteristics and behaviors more dangerous and powerful than those of planktonic (singleton) bacteria. In fact, these insidious microscopic collectives could be regarded as biological case studies in “strength in numbers” as they unify against external assault, resisting the host immune response as well as antimicrobials, and exact their high human and fiscal costs. Puzzlingly, although biofilms are a ubiquitous, well documented cause of infection, they receive only a modicum of the attention they clearly merit.